Læknablaðið - 15.09.1980, Side 11

LÆKNABLADIÐ
201
ráöum um fyrirkomulag og úrvinnslu á gögn-
um meðan á rannsókninni stóð.
Síðast en ekki síst þökkum við þeim fjöl-
skyldum, sem tóku þátt í rannsókninni, fyrir
samvinnuna.
SUMMARY
This is a psychiatric study of the families of deep sea
fishermen. lt is a part of a broader study examining
fishermen and their nuclear families from a psychi-
atric, medical, psychological and sociological points
of view. The wives and children of the crew and
officers of 5 trawlers were examined as well as a
control group of wives and children of employees in
4 factories matched by age, education and job
responsibility to 4 of the 5 trawler crews studied.
The health and interpersonal relationship of 47
fishermen’s families and 52 families of factory
workers were assessed by a semistructured open-
ended family interview at the home. The wife also
filled in the Cornell Medical Index Health Question-
naire. The children were assessed for overall psychi-
atric disorder, individual symptoms were rated and
psychiatric diagnoses made.
The fishermen’s wives show more psychiatric
symptoms and have more often marital problems
than the wives in the controlgroup. The children in
the fishermen’s families have more severe degree
of psychiatric symptoms.
The long absense from home of the fishermen
seems to be the most important factor in increasing
the frequency of psychiatric difficulties in the
fishermen's families.
HEIMILDIR
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2. Björnsson, S. (1974): Epidemiological investiga-
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vík, lceland. Scand . J. Psychol. 15, 244-254.
3. Brodman, K„ A. J. Erdmann & H. G. Wolff
(1956): Cornell Medical Index Questionnaire
Manual. New York.
4. Fugelli. P. (1975): Mental health and living
conditions in a fishing community in northern
Norway. In: Social, Somatic and Psychiatric
Studies of Geographically Defined Populations.
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Ólafsson, H. Hannesdóttir & J. G. Stefánsson
(1977a): Havfiskere og deres familier. Tidsskr.
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